EMDR has eight phases. That sounds like a lot until you realize most of them are just your therapist making sure you don’t fall apart.

Phases 1 and 2 are basically getting to know you and teaching you how to calm yourself down. Phase 3 is picking which memory to work on. Phases 4 through 6 are the actual processing. Phases 7 and 8 are wrapping up and checking in next time.

That’s it. Here’s what each one looks like in practice.

This is where your therapist gets to know you. They’ll ask about what brought you to therapy, what symptoms you’re dealing with, and your history with trauma or difficult experiences.

You don’t have to share every detail of what happened to you. Your therapist doesn’t need the full story to help you. They just need enough context to understand what memories might be causing your current problems and how to approach treatment.

By the end of this phase, you and your therapist will have a plan. You’ll know which memories you’re going to work on and in what order. This usually takes one to two sessions, sometimes more if your history is complex.

Before any trauma processing happens, your therapist makes sure you have the tools to handle it.

This phase is about learning coping skills. Things like deep breathing, grounding techniques, and visualization exercises. Your therapist might teach you to imagine a calm, safe place you can mentally go to if things feel too intense.

The goal is to make sure you can shift from feeling activated to feeling calm. If you can do that, you’re ready to move forward. If you need more time here, that’s completely fine. Some people spend several sessions in this phase, especially if they’re dealing with complex trauma or haven’t had much experience with therapy before.

Your therapist will also explain exactly how EMDR works during this phase. They’ll answer your questions and make sure you understand what’s going to happen. No surprises.

This is where you and your therapist identify the specific memory you’re going to work on.

You’ll pick an image that represents the memory. Then you’ll identify the negative belief you have about yourself connected to that memory. Something like “I’m not safe” or “I’m worthless” or “It was my fault.”

You’ll also identify the positive belief you’d rather have. Something like “I’m safe now” or “I have value” or “I did the best I could.”

Your therapist will ask you to rate how true the positive belief feels on a scale of 1 to 7. They’ll also ask you to rate how disturbing the memory feels on a scale of 0 to 10. These numbers give you both a baseline to track your progress.

You’ll also notice where you feel the disturbance in your body. Tightness in your chest, tension in your shoulders, a knot in your stomach. Trauma isn’t just stored in your thoughts. It lives in your body too.

This is the phase most people think of when they picture EMDR. This is where the bilateral stimulation happens.

You’ll hold the memory in mind while your therapist guides you through side to side eye movements, tapping, or sounds. The stimulation activates both sides of your brain and helps it process the memory differently.

During this phase, new thoughts, images, feelings, and body sensations might come up. You’ll share what you notice with your therapist, then continue with more bilateral stimulation. This process repeats until the memory no longer feels as disturbing.

The goal is for that 0 to 10 distress rating to come down to a 0 or close to it. For some memories this happens quickly. For others it takes multiple sessions.

Once the distress has gone down, you focus on strengthening the positive belief.

Remember that belief you identified in phase 3? The one you’d rather have about yourself? Now you pair it with the memory using more bilateral stimulation. The goal is for that positive belief to feel completely true when you think about what happened.

Your therapist will check in using the 1 to 7 scale again. A 7 means the positive belief feels completely true. You keep working until you get there or as close as makes sense for your situation.

Trauma gets stored in the body, not just the mind. So even after the memory feels resolved emotionally and the positive belief feels true, there might still be physical tension hanging around.

In this phase, your therapist asks you to bring up the memory and the positive belief while scanning your body from head to toe. If you notice any tightness, discomfort, or other sensations, those get targeted with more bilateral stimulation until they clear.

A memory isn’t fully processed until your body is calm when you think about it.

Every EMDR session ends with closure, whether or not the memory is fully processed.

Your therapist will help you return to a calm, stable state before you leave. You might use some of the coping skills you learned in phase 2. The point is that you don’t walk out the door feeling destabilized.

Your therapist will also explain what to expect between sessions. Sometimes processing continues after you leave. You might have vivid dreams, new memories popping up, or shifts in how you’re feeling. This is normal. It means your brain is still working on things.

At the start of each new session, your therapist checks in on the work you’ve already done.

Did the distress stay low? Does the positive belief still feel true? Are there new memories or issues that came up since the last session?

This phase makes sure that the progress sticks and helps guide where to go next in treatment.

If you’re considering EMDR, the eight phases should actually be reassuring. They show that this isn’t a free for all where someone immediately digs into your trauma without preparation.

Phases 1 and 2 are all about building a foundation. You won’t start processing memories until you’re ready. If you want to know more about what happens before any of the intense work begins, we have an article on what to expect in your first EMDR session.

Phases 3 through 6 are where the actual processing happens. But even then, you’re in control. You can stop at any time. Your therapist is there to guide you, not to push you past what you can handle.

Phases 7 and 8 make sure you’re taken care of at the end of each session and that the work is actually sticking.

We offer in-person EMDR therapy at our Philadelphia and Haddonfield offices, with online sessions available for clients anywhere in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

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